The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2013

So I stumbled onto this cookie exchange while browsing through blogs. You make a donation to ‘Cookies for Kids’ Cancer’, which help with research, etc., so it’s really a great cause, and a great way to get in touch with other bloggers in your country! (Not to mention new ideas and COOKIES!) At this point, I’ve received one package of cookies, and two are at the Post office, just calling my name. But of course, due to kids, one vehicle, snow, and other circumstances…. I haven’t gotten to them yet! But I’m itching to get my hands on them to find out what they are!

For my cookies, well, I didn’t know what to do. I was really going to do a traditional family recipe, but I scratched that and did the total opposite. Though, I’m not sure why. Anyhow. I’ve been wanting to try out biscotti for quite some time now, and it just seemed like a good chance to try it out. I didn’t know much about it, other than that it’s twice baked, and awesome dipped in tea/coffee/hot chocolate. I also know that I love cinnamon and coffee/tea/hot chocolate. So, 1 + 2 = cinnamon sugar biscotti. Or some such thing.

Here goes! Next time, I think I’d omit the coffee chocolate chips, and make pour some cinnamon and sugar on top of the cookies as well, but hey – first try, eh? Also, sorry for the non-natural-light-photos… I was crunching for time, and had to make them at night. 🙂

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti

1/4 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pinch salt
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 3/4 cup flour
Coffee flavoured chocolate chips (optional)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Glaze:
3 tsp milk
1 cup icing sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together margarine, and sugars. Add salt, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in flour and baking powder until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips (if desired). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide dough into 4 even balls. shape each into an 8 inch log, slightly flatten. Place two on the baking sheet. Mix together cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar onto the two flattened logs. Cover with remaining logs and pinch together on the sides. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes, or until middle is set and slightly golden. Let cool on a rack for 1 hour. Slice diagonally into 3/4 inch strips. Place on cookie sheet, and bake at 350F for 8 minutes. Flip cookies, and bake for another 8 minutes. They should be dry to the touch. Let cool on a wire rack.

Mix together glaze until smooth. Coat ends of biscotti with glaze, dip in second amount of cinnamon sugar.

Ta da! Enjoy those biscotti!

And a teaser of the boys and one of their uncles… Just have to do it!  I painted my kitchen [again!] too!

Have I mentioned CRAZY lately?

**Just a warning – this is going to be a llloooonggg post.  But I hope you enjoy it enough to read it all!  :)**

Okay, here’s just how crazy I am.  At the moment, I’m FINALLY uploading my wedding pictures (from June 2010) to be developed…  I don’t have any printed off.  And I’m dead serious.  (Have I mentioned I am the queen of procrastination?  Because that’s true too.)  Not to mention baby pictures.  We have a baby?  You’d never know by my empty photo frames.

Anyhow.  We had a great, crazy, busy weekend.  My grandmother’s party was a hit.  I survived the 5K run.  Mother’s Day has come and gone.  All that in 2 days.  And it just hasn’t seemed to have slowed down very much.  I’ve had time to post, I won’t deny, but I’ve chosen to chillax instead.  Right now, I’m really still chillaxing.

I have to share this picture with you.  I just stumbled on it in choosing what pictures to get printed (this is a most certainly…).

You see, my brother Caleb got the brilliant idea of a turban for Cael a few months ago.  And now I do variations.  How do you like Biker-Cael-with-the-Cheesies?  I think he’s pretty darn cute, to tell the truth.

So!  I thought I’d  let you in on the 75th Birthday Bash.  The cake turned out pretty good (gave me a huge headache, but worth it… right?).  Along with my pan of squares, orange vanilla scones, two batches of shortbread cookies, AND 20 roast beef wraps.  I was flying on Saturday.  Literally, flying.  And slightly scared of crash landing in my mess of an icing-filled kitchen.  Mother’s Day, we went out for breakfast, and then we went for ice cream that evening too.  🙂

How do you like my grandmother’s cake?

Doesn’t she look great for 75?  If I didn’t know it, I would have guessed 65, seriously.

AND NOW…  I’ll share some food with you.

I made and photographed these awhile ago.  They are a standard in every household, but I like to believe that these are the BEST of their kind.  Give it up for Chococlate Chip Cookies!

*Warning – this makes a big batch.  But they go fast, so don’t even worry about it!*

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is from a family friend.  The recipe says that the oatmeal is “optional”, but I would say that it is actually quite MANDATORY.  You choose in the end, but I’d advise adding oatmeal over not.  🙂

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup oatmeal (I use almost a cup most of the time)

2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix together oil, margarine and sugars.  Cream.  Add eggs and beat well.

The batter will look something like this:

Doesn’t it make you want to lick the beaters?

Next, add the salt, flour and baking soda, and beat until smooth.  Add the oatmeal and chocolate chips.

Bake for about 10 minutes (or until slightly browned).  They are awesome RIGHT out of the oven.  And almost equally awesome days later.

Please enjoy these on this nice spring Victoria Day LONG WEEKEND!  Woot.  Do it up.

Now if you would be so kind as to not fall asleep while reading these 30 ‘interesting’ things about me!  🙂

30 Day Challenge

Day 6 – Write 30 interesting facts about yourself.

(This could be hard…  But here goes!)

1)  I love baking, but never follow a recipe exactly

2)  I work best under pressure (ie – ‘Queen of Procrastination’)

3)  I took Tourism and Hospitality Management at university

4)  I love doing cross words (but usually end up cheating for a word or two)

5)  Puzzles are awesome

6)  I study best at Starbucks

7)  My favourite thing to drink at Starbucks is a Skinny Caramel Macchiato

8)  There are three books I have read about 10 times each (and would still re-read) – they are all by Eva Ibbotson

9)  I have read through the entire Bible once, and am currently trying to do it again

10)  I married my high school sweetheart

11)  I am so glad I did

12)  I have the cutest little boy in the world, who laughs when he burps or farts (quite a boy, huh?)

13)  This summer will be the first time I’ve ever stood in a wedding other than my own

14)  I have an addiction to mustard coloured things

15)  I love my middle name

16)  I love wearing dresses, but I also love jeans – it’s a toss-up

17)  I love reasons to dress up

18)  I love kissing my hubby

19)  I love taking university courses (it makes me feel successful)

20)  I haven’t weighed myself since the day before I gave birth to my son

21)  I own a TON of Coke Cola memorabilia, but rarely drink the beverage

22)  I no longer have an appendix

23)  I was born with a cleft palate in my soft palate

24)  I have had the same group of 4 friends since grade 5

25)  I love to drive.  Like, I REALLY love to drive.

26)  Road trips are my dream vacation (well, other than touring France, England, and Italy)

27)  One of my favourite foods are Ribbits (Which are really bad for you, and you’ve probably never heard of them, but you should really try to find them, BBQ them, and eat them.)

28)  I love superhero movies

29)  Ice cream is one of many of my all-time favourites

30)  I am a firm believer in the death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He is my Saviour.

There you have it guys.  You should know me a lot better now.  If I’m ever sad, or grumpy, buy me some ice cream or a Skinny Caramel Macchiato, and I’m good to go.

What do you think?  What did you find ‘interesting’?  Whatcha doin’ for the long weekend?

Little Helpers!

This post is going to be fun.

It will be fun, you see, because it was a fun baking experience – because I got to bake with three precious little girls.

Now you see, if you knew me in my kitchen (ask my hubby for verification!), you would never think that I would be able to handle this.  When I bake, I’m flying.  Well actually, when I live (which is well, always) I fly.  For some reason, it’s a go, goooo, GO for me all the time.  I can be seen literally running through the house at times if nobody is around, and perhaps at times when people are present.  SO – baking with others is normally a task for me.  I just don’t have time!  Well, I just don’t take the time…  But this day, I did.  And I’m so glad for it.  It was a great time with these three, and they even said that they had fun!  I was super happy about that.

This recipe is super easy.  It was one that my grandmother would set me to making, because it has few ingredients and it’s pretty hard to mess up (which I HAVE done, but they taste good no matter what anyhow).  For these, I always use a wooden spoon.  Also because of Nannie.  She liked using wooden spoons for quite a few things, and it stuck.  These squares are so easy to stir by hand that it’s really and truly a waste of time to get a mixer out and messed up.

Chocolate Chip Squares

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2/3 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Stir together eggs, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla.  Add baking powder, salt and flour.

Stir until combined.

Add chocolate chips.

Pour into a greased 9×9 pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Lick dough off of spoon.

They’re really nice and gooey…. and chocolaty too.

Enjoy.

We also made homemade old-fashioned strawberry ice cream later on that day.  With a crank outside in the snow.  It’s really quite cool.  It takes awhile, but it’s most definitely worth it.  (But it’s not low-calorie by ANY mean!  Haha.)

It.

Is.

SO.

GOOD!

So, that was my really great day with these three great little ladies.  Hope you enjoy the squares.

Do you take your time to bake?   Or do you fly, like I seem to?

Must be Peanut Butter Time Again!

Guess what?  This past weekend was really great.  I got some things done.  Hung out a bit.  Y’know.

But it was also….  Well, let’s just say you are about to see how clumsy I am/how a LOT of my days turn out in the end.  I took most of the afternoon on Saturday to make some baby food.  Cael is an eater.  I mean, he eats.  And eats.  And eats….  Get the picture?  (But still no teeth!)  Anyway.  I had to make him some food.  And I was feeling really good about it.  A real domestic thing to do.  Get the picture?  La-ti-da, cooking and blending away.  I made him some date oatmeal, carrots, and corn.  They looked SO pretty – the colours are great.

Nice, right?  Not for long…

And then, I went to put them in the freezer.  If you’ve ever been in our home, you might understand.  For those of you who haven’t, let me explain.  The freezer is like a time bomb.  It ticks, and the trigger is someone who’s in a hurry (ME?!), trying to shove something in the zero space that remains.  It’s like trying to fit a 13th muffin in a 12-cup muffin tin.  Or maybe a 13th AND 14th.    Either way.  This is what happens.  Regularly.

Except normally, things aren’t still runny.  And don’t spill all over the floor.

Sigh.  All my work.  Oh well, I suppose.  Ever had these moments?

Back to the baking…  So, I got another request.  This time – Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies “that stay nice and moist”.  Now I must say, I LOVE the peanut butter/chocolate combo.  But.  When it comes to cookies, they need to be strictly peanut butter.  So I always use peanut butter chips.  Chocolate chips can be substituted easily though.  Definitely.  (Really though,  I guess I could do chocolate chip peanut butter cookies… 😉  )

Anyhow…  I love peanut butter cookies.  But the thing is – I hardly ever get to make them BECAUSE of silly allergy rules in the schools.  Cookies are such a great snack in lunches.  My brothers take cookies to school all the time (SOMEBODY’S gotta eat all those cookies we’re making!), but they can’t take peanut butter cookies.  So.  Solution is to bake them on weekends, or extended breaks.  This week is March break, problem solved.  (Not that I don’t eat a ton of them too, I’m addicted.)  Again, they don’t look perfect.  I don’t use a proportioned scoop (I have that gripe… remember?), but you totally could if you want (I know some people just can’t help it, I understand…).  🙂

Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

Pinch salt

1 bag peanut butter chips (or chocolate)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix together the margarine, peanut butter, and sugars.

Add egg and salt, mix.  Mix in flour, and baking soda.  Should look something like this:

Now’s the time to add the peanut butter (chocolate) chips!  I drop these cookies by the spoonful, but they can be rolled into balls too and pressed with a fork if you want.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes (they should be just brown around the edges).

These cookies stay awesomely chewy [and yummy] stored in an airtight container.

Hope you enjoy!  Bon appetit!

How was your weekend?

Peanut Butter Calvin

So surprisingly, I’m going to post again.  For my THIRD time in 2 weeks!  Wohoo.  I’m on a roll.

Does anybody else have a love for Calvin and Hobbes?  I sure do.  Growing up with all brothers greatly aids my appreciation of them.  For instance, this cartoon fits all of my brothers at about age 8 (which is how old my youngest brother is at the moment).

My youngest little bro was reading to Cael the other day.  It was so sweet, I just had to catch a few shots of them.

It was Cael’s first time to read Calvin.  He really seemed to enjoy it.  Well, he tried to eat the book anyway.

Pretty cute, eh?

So, now that we’ve covered Calvin, let’s get to the peanut butter part of this post.

I have this addiction, my husband shares it.  It’s called…  Peanut butter and chocolate.  It has got to be one of the BEST combinations ever thought up.  Somehow, there are those who don’t enjoy this mix, but I call them crazy and deprived.

My hubby isn’t into many of my baked goods, but these squares I’m about to share with you….  Let’s just say he’s more than into them, he’s all over them!  These things are so simple to make to – no bake.  And delectable.  Company always asks for more and the recipe too.  Simple and delicious.  What more could you ask for in a dessert?  Except for maybe a chocolate-peanut butter combo…  But wait!  It’s got that too!

This recipe is also a family recipe, thanks to my aunt.  🙂

Reeses Pieces Squares

Bottom:

1 1/4 cup graham crackers

3/4 cup margarine (softened)

1 tsp vanilla

3  cups icing sugar

1 cup peanut butter (I use smooth, but crunchy could definitely work as well!)

Simply mix it all together and pat into an ungreased 9×9 pan.

Then, you make the top…

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips (we use semi-sweet)

2 tsp water

Reeses pieces candy, crushed

Melt the chocolate chips and water in the microwave.  Stir until smooth.  sprinkle with crushed candy pieces.  And… Tada!

So, craving yet?  I sure am…  My hubby is too apparently.  He’s looking over my shoulder while I’m writing this and asked if there were any left.  🙂  There is something to say about baking for your husband and him enjoying it.

Hope you enjoy those squares!  They are pretty darn good if I do say so myself.  PB and chocolate anyone?

Cookie Balls!

Hey, hope everyone has had a great January thus far.  2012 is flying by already.  My little guy is 6 months old today!  When people tell you that kids grow up fast, you nod, agree with them, but only half believe them.  Until…  your baby is born, then screaming, then laughing and smiling, then rolling, then eating solids, then cutting teeth…  and soon crawling, and now 6 months old!  It really does jet past.  My advice to others (and myself included), set down the laundry, stop doing the dishes, and spend time with your kids.  The dishes and laundry will always be there and never change, kids are different.  Enjoy them.  Every moment.  They’ll remember you spending time with them too.  Don’t get me wrong, you do need to get those things done, but in time.  It doesn’t always have to be done right away.

Our first family Christmas photo with our baby.

Okay, so I’m really proud of myself right now.  Second post in under a month.  Must be a record for me.  We went out this afternoon for lunch, it was awesome.  If you’re ever in NS, Canada, check out the Kiwi Cafe.  It’s sweet.

Today, I’ll fulfill my promise of sharing my cookie dough ball recipes with you.  I made these for a cookie exchange (one of two in two days… haha) over Christmas, and they were really great.  Sad thing was, I didn’t make extra for myself, and only got to sample half of each.  Guess it helped with my holiday weight gain that way…  sigh.  Oh well.  Next year, we’re making a triple batch!  😉  I made two different recipes for this exchange.  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls, and Cranberry White Chocolate Skor Cookie Dough Balls (or CWCSCDB for… short?  Haha.).  Just a note – these recipes are especially for my friend Amanda, who tried these and loved them (I love hearing people enjoy food I make…!).

Don’t they look great?  Good enough to eat?

The chocolate chip balls were an idea I found on Pinterest, and adapted slightly to my own liking.  The other recipe was adapted from a cookie recipe given to me by a friend (they were actually supposed to be made into cookies for ice cream sandwiches, which I intend to try sometime!).

So!  First off, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls!

Makes approx 3-4 dozen.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup margarine, room temperature

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup milk

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or mini chips)

Coating:  1 pkg chocolate chips and 1/4 cup Parofin Wax.

Beat margarine and sugars in a large bowl with electric mixer of medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add milk and vanilla.  Stir in flour, baking soda, oats and salt and mix on low-speed (or stir by hand) until incorporated.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Form dough into 1″ balls and arrange on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.  Melt chocolate and wax in a double boiler.  Using spoon, dip cookie balls into chocolate coating to cover.  Tap on side of pan to remove any excess coating, and return to waxed paper-lined baking sheets.  Chill until set.

AND NOW, for the amazing Cranberry White Chocolate Skor Cookie Dough Balls.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

1 cup shortening, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup oats

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 pkg white chocolate chips

1/2 cup Skor toffee bits

1 cup dried cranberries

Coating:  1/2 pkg white chocolate chips and 1/4 cup Parofin Wax

Beat butter, and sugars in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add milk and vanilla.  Stir in flour, baking soda, oats and salt and mix on low-speed (or stir by hand) until incorporated.  Stir in chips, Skor bits, and cranberries.  Form dough into 1″ balls and arrange on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.  Melt chocolate and wax in a double boiler.  Using spoon, dip cookie balls into chocolate coating to cover.  Tap on side of pan to remove any excess coating, and return to waxed paper-lined baking sheets.  Chill until set.

They look good, inside and out.

So, I think these turned out wonderfully.

I stuck the recipes on them too.  

At the cookie exchange, there was a prize for the best packaging.  I had seen in a magazine a few ideas for food gifts.  One of them was to use an egg carton and scrapbooking paper.  I tried it – and it looked really neat.  It’s a great idea recycling-wise, and it won the prize too!  🙂  All you had to do was cut a strip of paper the size of the top of the carton (the part that lifts) and then cut out the holes where it closes, and glue it on.I put my cookie balls in the carton in small paper cups and then wrapped the carton with raffia and stuck in a sprig of a decoration thing that we’d picked up.

Hope you enjoyed the recipe.

Did anyone else try anything new this holiday season?  Have you guys discovered Pinterest yet?  

A Gripe About Cookies

Cookies are great.  There are all different sorts of cookies, drop, rolled, icebox, boxed, homemade, mixes, plus just about any flavour you can imagine.  There is cookie dough ice cream (chocolate chip AND caramel  peanut butter… oh, the joys of summer!), Christmas cookies, gingerbread houses, there’s even a cookie MONSTER!  Some are simple to make, others take awhile.  But there is one thing (maybe two…) that really bug me about cookies.

First and foremost:  When homemade cookies try to be perfectly circular.  Don’t even.  They’re homemade – that means they should have some character and at least try to look homemade.

Secondly:  2 hours old cookies.  I said I love cookies.  But I’d much rather bake them and eat the dough, than eat the cookies themselves, especially if they’re not right out of the oven.  But that’s just me.  I know lots of people who absolutely adore cookies – any kind, anytime, anywhere.  I made 6 dozen cookies in two days, and they were almost completely gone the third day (of course, that is in a household with 6 males…).

There are a few kinds that I love though.  Just a few.  🙂  Oatmeal raisin.  Now, people say these are grandmother cookies (namely my hubby), but they have GOT to be the best cookies out there – especially right out of the oven.  Molasses.  My father and our pastor’s wife both make different kinds of molasses  cookies, one type is really soft and the others really chewy, but they. are. both. SO. good!  Drop shortbread.  These are normally Christmas cookies in my house.  They’re oh-so very buttery and we put gumdrops on top (but I take those off and let my mother eat them (gumdrops are gross) haha).  These are probably the only cookie that I could eat dozens of, whether they’re just out of the oven, or days old.  The last one on my favourites list:  Date.  Oh-so-good.  Oatmeal cookies with cooked dates in the middle.  These things looked and tasted absolutely gross to me until I was about 16, but man!  Now they are soooo good!  And – peanut butter cookies.  Yum.  I’ll cook all of these up sometime soon  (and more) and share with you.  But for now, how about some Double Chocolate Chip cookies?

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 cup shortening or softened margarine

1/2 cup each brown and white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 pkg instant chocolate pudding

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips (or 1 bag)

Preheat oven to 350.  Cream together the margarine and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix.  Add pudding, flour, soda, and salt.  Mix until smooth.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Drop onto ungreased baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes (i do 11, but that’s just our oven…).   Let cool for a few minutes on sheets, then transfer onto a wire rack.  Enjoy with a glass of milk!

Oh cookies…  I absolutely love making them.  They’re great to give away too.  My favourite baking style for these tasty rounds has got to be drops.  They’re so much quicker than rolling, etc.  You have GOT to try out our chocolate chip cookie recipe, and my oatmeal, butterscotch, skor!  They’re on their way to this blog…  sometime soon!

What’s you favourite cookie?  Have any similar (or dissimilar) gripes?

Pumpkin Everything

So, tis the season…  For pumpkin that is!  I love how the different seasons bring their own tastes, ingredients, aromas, and feels.  Right now, I could do with pretty much pumpkin anything.  The other day, I made a Dutch Pumpkin Apple Crisp (so good!), I’m currently craving a Pumpkin Spice Latte, I’m planning on making Pumpkin Cheesecake Squares this weekend, and TODAY I made Pumpkin Cranberry Bread.  As I said, pumpkin everything – literally.  If I had a pumpkin candle, you can be sure that would be lit in the kitchen too (what a good idea!).

So, I thought I’d share my very first recipe on foreverfaithandfood!  Hope you enjoy this Pumpkin Cranberry Bread recipe!

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

 1 ½ cups flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp each ginger, cloves, and nutmeg

2 eggs

1 cup mashed pumpkin

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup dried cranberries

 In a bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin, oil, sugars, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add the flour, salt, baking powder & soda, and spices.  Mix until flour is moist.  Stir in cranberries.  Pour into a greased loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 55 minutes, or until toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.

If you want to change it up a bit, substitute fresh cranberries for the dried (but if you do this, add 1/4 cup more flour).  OR, you can omit the cranberries, and add raisins, chocolate chips, or pecans.  If you want a slightly healthier version, use 1/4 cup apple sauce and 1/4 cup oil, instead of just oil, and cut back on the sugar by using only 1/2 cup total.  You can also use a low-cal sweetener, but use less of it than you would sugar.

If you like pumpkin, check out my Pumpkin Cheesecake Squares!

Hope you all enjoy it!!